Make Peace, not War
By Saman Malik
Just a few days ago for the first time since the Pak-Indo war of 1971, Indian troops launched airstrikes on Pakistani land, which resulted in escalating tensions between the two nuclear states. The Indian government announced that the strikes were carried out to thwart militant groups and terrorist training camps in Balakot, while the Pakistani government denies these claims and argues this was simply an act of aggression.
In the passing week, all kinds of rallying cries for war have been heard. From Indian troops to the Pakistani armed forces, everyone has an opinion, but worst of all are the opinions of the Pakistani masses. At this point, everyone who’s anyone has heard the bloodthirsty conversations at the dinner table and beyond; and one thing is becoming exceedingly clear: many value their foolhardy pride more than the lives of their fellow citizens.
They forget that in any war, the most vulnerable cohort constitutes women and children. According to the United Nations, most of those who die in war are civilians, particularly women and children. In fact, in most if not all contemporary wars, the price that women have had to pay has been gruesome. Glaring headlines of sexual violence during wartime have largely gone unnoticed, those women left unavenged. Yet, statistics and proof is aplenty.
In Rwanda, between up to 250,000 women were raped during the three months of genocide in 1994 — and that’s much shorter than most wars last. In Sierra Leone, 60, 000 women were raped during the civil war. 20,000 more women became victims of rape in the Bangladeshi war of independence, 1971. In the final year of World War 2, up to 2 million women were raped.
Personal accounts of survivors are easily available. 83-year-old Ruth Schumacher, a victim of the world war two, publicized her harrowing story years later.
Other women around the globe share similar stories to Ruth’s, proving what we already knew. Sexual violence is widely being used as a weapon of war. In a situation where the rule of law has broken down, and wartime rhetoric has overwhelmed most other kinds of discourse, women are the first to lose out.
During times of war, rape is no longer concealed behind sexual desire, it becomes openly about violence and humiliation. In fact, sexual violence is no longer a casualty of war, it has become something far more dangerous. Rape is now a strategy of war. According to a report by Amnesty International, in Bosnia, rape was used as a tool for ethnic cleansing. Bosnian women were raped so they could give birth to Serbian babies. This is very similar to the logic used by the Pakistani armed forces during the Bangladeshi war. Bangladeshi women too, were raped so they could ‘breed Punjabi babies” Rape is no longer just a consequence of war, it is being used to change demographics.
To make matters worse, the complications of wartime sexual violence do not end here. During times of war, access to abortion, general healthcare and contraception is generally unavailable. In many instances, these women become infected with HIV/AIDS, as was the case in some African regions. In most regions, victims of wartime sexual abuse are isolated, stigmatized and forced to face their trauma alone.
Regardless of the presence of a multitude of women’s voices bringing this issue to light, too few people consider this as an actual cost of war. The dignities and bodies of women have been the unacknowledged collateral damage of war for decades if not centuries. In other words, all Pakistanis unperturbed by a war waiting to happen, too trusting in their own military might, should know the full cost of war. Testosterone laden decisions taken in a fleeting moment will lead to the sacrifice of thousands of your women.
Every Pakistani that has ever considered war as a viable solution, should know that it is women’s bodies that are the battleground.
